Strategic and Succession Planning

Strategic Business Planning

Strategic planning can be defined as the deliberate, systematic, and continuous process for realizing an organization's vision or purpose. To be able to set reasonable, meaningful long-term (strategic) goals for a company, it is important first to understand the difference between strategic vs. operational decisions. Decisions and choices that are of strategic importance are those that generally affect an organization's progress toward meeting its core mission and realizing its guiding vision. In contrast, operational decisions are those that affect progress toward meeting current program objectives and benchmarks.

Succession Planning

Often an element of a company's strategic plan, succession planning is the deliberate actions taken by today's ownership of a firm to insure sound, competent leadership in the firm's future. About 40% of all businesses in America do not have a succession plan. The result is a business environment with much more instability and monetary risk than is necessary. If you are the founder of a closely held business, what do you think the chances are that your business will survive into the next generation? The answer is only about 1 in 3 or 4. In other words, fewer than 30% of small businesses survive into the second generation. And it gets worse. The chances of your firm surviving into the grandchildren's generation are fewer than 1 in 7!

The sad fact is that closely held businesses fail at a much greater rate than other kinds of businesses. And the primary reason they fail, after having operated successfully under the first owner is that they don't make a successful transition to the next owner. As organizational experts CLARITY can help insure that your business survives and flourishes into the next generation of ownership.